Canada designates seven more individuals linked to Iranian repression, proxy activity
Canada has imposed new Iran sanctions on seven individuals tied to state-linked intimidation, proxy operations and transnational repression, expanding Ottawa’s campaign against Tehran’s security and intelligence networks.
OTTAWA, February 14, 2026 — Canada announced new sanctions on seven individuals under its Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations, saying the targets were linked to Iranian state bodies involved in intimidation, violence and transnational repression against dissidents and human rights defenders.
Global Affairs Canada said the measures respond to Iran’s use of repression and violence beyond its borders and against its own people. Ottawa said Iranian proxy agents and criminal networks have been used to harass, surveil and plan violence against critics in Europe and North America, conduct that Canada said threatens state sovereignty and undermines international law and global security.
The seven newly listed individuals are Naji Ibrahim Sharifi Zindashti, identified by Canada as head of the Zindashti criminal network; Reza Hamidiravari of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security; Mohammed Reza Ansari, a senior official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force Unit QF-840; Ali Esfanjani; Muhammed Abd Al-Razek Kanafani; Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan; and Mohammed Reza Naserzadeh, a former staff member at the Iranian consulate in Istanbul’s civil registry department. Canada said the group participated directly or indirectly in Iran-directed activity undermining international peace, security or stability.
The sanctions impose a dealings ban that effectively freezes any assets the listed persons may hold in Canada and bars people in Canada and Canadians abroad from making property available to them. The listings also render the individuals inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
With the latest action, Canada said it has sanctioned a total of 478 Iranian individuals and entities across Iran’s security, intelligence and economic apparatus. That total includes 222 individuals and 256 entities under the Iran regulations, with most of the measures imposed since 2022. Canada expanded the regulations in October 2022 to target gross and systematic human rights violations, and amended them again in March 2025 to cover destabilizing activity in the Middle East and globally.
The move is part of Ottawa’s broader pressure campaign against Tehran over domestic repression and overseas operations carried out through security services, proxy groups and associated criminal networks.
Regulatory Actions
Structured data extracted from official sources and validated by sanctions experts